Lessons from Spain ---- What if we talked about Spain... Political life
there has sunk so low in recent months. Is no hope possible? No other
conceivable social project? Our friends at Editions du Coquelicot have
published in their collection Les cahiers du Coquelicot a short and
fascinating work by André and Dori Prudhommeaux entitled Libertarian
Catalonia 1936/1937, followed by What Are the CNT and the FAI? We first
read about it some time ago, and current events make it even more
relevant. ---- André was born in the Familistère de Guise in the north
of the Aisne region, a place well worth visiting, a symbol of the
utopian socialism that perhaps shaped our author's thinking. He and Dori
opened a bookstore specializing in social history. After a trip to
Germany, they became anarchists, and with Voline edited the journal
Terre libre, the organ of the French Anarchist Federation. In Barcelona,
Spain, he published the first issues of L'Espagne antifasciste with
Aristide Lapeyre. He returned to France, highly critical of the
CNT/FAI's ministerial participation. After the war, he contributed to Le
Libertaire and then, in 1954, to Le Monde libertaire. With Dori, he
wrote several books, including this one.
The People in Arms?
Illustrated with posters and photographs of the war, the book primarily
addresses the arming of the people. This "is the first problem of any
social struggle. In Spain, this problem was decisive from the first day
and has never ceased to be so." It is this armed struggle that dictates
the pace of the revolution's development, on all fronts. The authors
present testimonies taken from various journals. Noteworthy in Vu of
August 29, 1936, after the attempted putsch in Barcelona, were the words
of Lluis Companys, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia: "The
attitude of the anarchists during that day was worthy of particular
admiration." Another testimony from a Catalanist: "From the very
beginning of the conflict, the anarchists took to the streets and,
followed by small groups of workers, they were the authors of the
victory. In twenty-four hours, the Spanish army was effectively
dissolved. This is the most stunning success ever recorded in the
history of a revolution. And it was the anarchist movement that brought
about this result." The sigh of relief should not hide the bourgeoisie's
concern about this popular force.
"Militia, yes! But soldiers never!"
Anti-fascist militias organized themselves from the ground up. CNT/FAI
13,000 men, UGT 2,000, POUM 3,000, Police and Generalitat 2,000. The
first column will be Durruti's heading towards Zaragoza (Roberto
Martinez Catalan, Destination Saragossa, Chronicle of the Durruti
Column, Ed. Le Coquelicot, 2024). Several articles, particularly in the
French press, highlight the quality of the organization. An entire
chapter is devoted to the choice: Military or militia. In Antifascist
Spain, an article concludes: "The army has proven to be a danger to the
people; only the people's militias protect public freedoms: Militiamen,
yes! But soldiers never!"
This statement must be qualified. The question of a single command
arises, and then the resumption of control of the fighting forces is
organized despite the opposition of the militias defended by Durruti. We
find a series of testimonies and statements in a fiery style regarding
the defense of Madrid.
The second part of the book contains documents, including the
declaration of the Italian section of the Ascaso Column against military
mobilization, as well as the intervention of a delegate from the Iron
Column. Yes, the question of single command or coordination is
fundamental, as is that of discipline. André and Dori Prudhommeaux
provide a valuable synthesis of the history of the CNT/FAI, the war, and
the political debates, including that on the participation of anarchists
in the government.
Let us conclude with this approach: "Through its revolutionary
collaboration with other political tendencies, Spanish anarchism has set
an example of unprecedented revolutionary tolerance and of a true
proletarian democracy, which is building a new world, hostile to all
dictatorships and based on socialism."
* André and Dori Prudhommeaux
Libertarian Catalonia 1936/1937, followed by What Are the CNT and the FAI?
Ed. Le Coquelicot, 2012
https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8469
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
there has sunk so low in recent months. Is no hope possible? No other
conceivable social project? Our friends at Editions du Coquelicot have
published in their collection Les cahiers du Coquelicot a short and
fascinating work by André and Dori Prudhommeaux entitled Libertarian
Catalonia 1936/1937, followed by What Are the CNT and the FAI? We first
read about it some time ago, and current events make it even more
relevant. ---- André was born in the Familistère de Guise in the north
of the Aisne region, a place well worth visiting, a symbol of the
utopian socialism that perhaps shaped our author's thinking. He and Dori
opened a bookstore specializing in social history. After a trip to
Germany, they became anarchists, and with Voline edited the journal
Terre libre, the organ of the French Anarchist Federation. In Barcelona,
Spain, he published the first issues of L'Espagne antifasciste with
Aristide Lapeyre. He returned to France, highly critical of the
CNT/FAI's ministerial participation. After the war, he contributed to Le
Libertaire and then, in 1954, to Le Monde libertaire. With Dori, he
wrote several books, including this one.
The People in Arms?
Illustrated with posters and photographs of the war, the book primarily
addresses the arming of the people. This "is the first problem of any
social struggle. In Spain, this problem was decisive from the first day
and has never ceased to be so." It is this armed struggle that dictates
the pace of the revolution's development, on all fronts. The authors
present testimonies taken from various journals. Noteworthy in Vu of
August 29, 1936, after the attempted putsch in Barcelona, were the words
of Lluis Companys, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia: "The
attitude of the anarchists during that day was worthy of particular
admiration." Another testimony from a Catalanist: "From the very
beginning of the conflict, the anarchists took to the streets and,
followed by small groups of workers, they were the authors of the
victory. In twenty-four hours, the Spanish army was effectively
dissolved. This is the most stunning success ever recorded in the
history of a revolution. And it was the anarchist movement that brought
about this result." The sigh of relief should not hide the bourgeoisie's
concern about this popular force.
"Militia, yes! But soldiers never!"
Anti-fascist militias organized themselves from the ground up. CNT/FAI
13,000 men, UGT 2,000, POUM 3,000, Police and Generalitat 2,000. The
first column will be Durruti's heading towards Zaragoza (Roberto
Martinez Catalan, Destination Saragossa, Chronicle of the Durruti
Column, Ed. Le Coquelicot, 2024). Several articles, particularly in the
French press, highlight the quality of the organization. An entire
chapter is devoted to the choice: Military or militia. In Antifascist
Spain, an article concludes: "The army has proven to be a danger to the
people; only the people's militias protect public freedoms: Militiamen,
yes! But soldiers never!"
This statement must be qualified. The question of a single command
arises, and then the resumption of control of the fighting forces is
organized despite the opposition of the militias defended by Durruti. We
find a series of testimonies and statements in a fiery style regarding
the defense of Madrid.
The second part of the book contains documents, including the
declaration of the Italian section of the Ascaso Column against military
mobilization, as well as the intervention of a delegate from the Iron
Column. Yes, the question of single command or coordination is
fundamental, as is that of discipline. André and Dori Prudhommeaux
provide a valuable synthesis of the history of the CNT/FAI, the war, and
the political debates, including that on the participation of anarchists
in the government.
Let us conclude with this approach: "Through its revolutionary
collaboration with other political tendencies, Spanish anarchism has set
an example of unprecedented revolutionary tolerance and of a true
proletarian democracy, which is building a new world, hostile to all
dictatorships and based on socialism."
* André and Dori Prudhommeaux
Libertarian Catalonia 1936/1937, followed by What Are the CNT and the FAI?
Ed. Le Coquelicot, 2012
https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8469
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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